Two Years - And Thousands of Dead - Later, Russia Still Hasn't Taken Chasiv Yar

Oh yeah, Chasiv Yar: weren't the Russians going to take that a couple of weeks after Bakhmut? Actually, that was two YEARS (and a half) ago. And Ukraine still retains it. 

Recently, their mobility enhanced by new French armored personnel carriers (pictured), the Ukrainians have been counterattacking, as they have across the front, and are not just holding, but regaining ground. JL

Decimus reports in Daily Kos:

The hellish battle for Bakhmut ended on May 21, 2023 with the late Yevgeny Prigozhin and his Wagner PMC claiming victory. The Ukrainian army garrison at Bakhmut fell back to their heavily fortified works at Chasiv Yar, 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) west of Bakhmut on elevated ground. That was over two years ago. Despite a humongous, costly effort by the Russians to cover the 6 miles and take it, Chasiv Yar remains Ukraine. Since September 2025 Ukrainian forces have engaged in counteroperations around Chasiv Yar,  particularly in northern Orikhovo-Vasylivka, where they have established fire superiority and pushed Russian units back. 

The hellish battle for the city of Bakhmut ended on May 21, 2023 with the late Russian war lord Yevgeny Prigozhin and his mercenary Wagner PMC claiming victory. The Ukrainian army garrison at Bakhmut, commanded by then Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi fell back unto their heavily fortified works at nearby Chasiv Yar … approximately 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) west of Bakhmut on elevated ground, which provided a strategic tactical advantage to Ukrainian forces. That was over two years ago. Despite a humongous and costly effort by the Russians to cover the 6 miles and take it, Chasiv Yar remains Ukraine.  For the Russians taking Chasiv Yar opens up the possibility of a shorter drive into the heart of the so-called Ukrainian “Fortress Belt” ranged just to the west of Chasiv Yar.  The stakes couldn’t be higher.

But what remains interesting is why Chasiv Yar? Right after May 21, 2023, the Russians could have just avoided the visibly built-up Ukrainian defenses there, swung northward from Bakhmut, hitched up their saddles and pounded up the MO3 highway over fairly flat and open country to take on the northern-most city in the “Fortress Belt”, Sloviansk, and then fight down hill from there to take on the remaining fortress cities. 

That is exactly what Igor “Strelkov” Girkin and his Donetsk separatist militants of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) did in April 2014. Afterwards he made himself the de facto military commander of the separatist forces in all of Donbas. It took an 85 day all out Ukrainian army siege to shake Strelkov and his rag tag army lose from Sloviansk.

More interesting still is why after taking most of the area north of Bakhmut(including Soledar) the Russians didn’t just keep on going even after taking the higher elevated village of Dubovo Vasylivka as well as engaging in a series of back and forth battles for the next village of Orikhovo-Vasylivka?  Well, they didn’t. Perhaps they didn’t because Ukraine stood firm, finally pushing the Russians out in July, 2023.  But despite repeated desultory attempts by the Russians to take Orikhovo-Vasylivka, Ukraine still holds the village situated approximately 11 km (6.8 miles) northwest of Bakhmut and roughly the same distance from Chasiv Yar:

Russians retreat from their positions near Orikhovo-Vasylivka

Andrii Kovalov, Spokesman for the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, has stated that the Defence Forces of Ukraine have driven the Russian forces out from their positions near Orikhovo-Vasylivka on the Bakhmut front.

www.pravda.com.ua/...

When Russia loses Bakhmut back to the Ukrainians or fail in their assault on the “Fortress Belt”, they may just look back on the decision to not push north from Bakhmut along the M03 highway with some regret.

Some regret because despite renewed recent Russian push, the ISW(Institute for Study of War) reports that the Ukrainians continue to hold at Orikhovo-Vasylivka as part of the overall stand to prevent the Russians from getting to the the cities of the “Fortress Belt” :

Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, September 25, 2025

Russian forces attacked southeast of Kostyantynivka itself; northeast of Kostyantynivka near Chasiv Yar, Novomarkove, Stupochky, and Orikhovo-Vasylivka(emphasis mine); east of Kostyantynivka near Oleksandro-Shultyne;

understandingwar.org/...

Russia’s occasional claims of having “captured”  the village is testimony to how much they wish they possessed it. The settlement of Orikhovo-Vasylivka is firmly under Ukrainian control, having now melded together with Chasiv Yar to form one cohesive defensive wall on the northwest of Bakhmut to hold back the Russians from the Fortress cities. Control of the high ground near Orikhovo-Vasylivka has been strategically significant in the Bakhmut sector due to its potential to grant artillery dominance over northern Bakhmut and the key heights along the MO3 Sloviansk-Bakhmut road as well as maneuverability on the Bakhmut front.  In other words, the Ukrainians have now perfected their system of maneuvering and hitting the Russians in the rear even before they get started on another massed assault at Orikhovo-Vasylivka.

Since September 2025 Ukrainian forces have been actively engaged in counteroperations around Chasiv Yar,  particularly in the northern part of the town closer to Orikhovo-Vasylivka, where they have established fire superiority and pushed Russian units back. This success is attributed to the delivery of new French VAB(Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé or Armored Vanguard Vehicle) personnel carriers, which doubled Ukrainian troop mobility and enabled rapid transfers of soldiers and equipment from Kostyantynivka, significantly enhancing their combat capabilities. Ukrainian forces have leveraged this advantage to exploit weaknesses in Russian defenses, including disrupting Russian logistics by targeting anti-drone nets on the road from Bakhmut to Chasiv Yar, allowing Ukrainian FPV drones to strike Russian vehicles and personnel with greater effectiveness.

Frontline report: Ukraine recaptures part of strategic Chasiv Yar as new French VEB[VAB] armor doubles combat power

With fresh French VEB[VAB] armor doubling troop mobility, Ukraine has secured fire superiority in Chasiv Yar, forcing Russian units into retreat and weakening their push toward Kostyantynivka.

euromaidanpress.com/...

ADAPTIVE INDOMITABLE UKRAINE knew all along during the intense bloody struggle for Bakhmut that they had to fortify the higher ground around Bakhmut in order to stanch or even stop further Russian advances.  Well over two years on, the continued stalwart defense at Orikhovo-Vasylivka(and Chasiv Yar) has proven out that plan.